Chris Lombardi puts defense and security under the spotlight, as he shares his takes on recent NATO and EU cooperation and provides insight into the company’s own long-term strategic partnerships in Europe.

Three trends are currently driving the global electricity sector: decarbonization, decentralization and differentiation. Utilities are making significant contributions to mitigate carbon emissions, while a technology revolution is …

NEWS IN BRIEF

THE European Commission is seeking huge fines against France over its refusal to make changes after a 1999 European Court of Justice ruling that it was in breach of EU insurance laws. Brussels has asked the court to fine Paris 242,650 euro per day for failing to insure that mutual funds are covered in directives designed to allow firms to offer services across the Union.

European Voice

5/22/02, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 7:58 AM CET

ALSO, the Commission revealed yesterday (22 May) it is investigating Spanish state aid worth 61 million euro to pay for the upgrade of a Volkswagen car plant in Pamplona.

KALININGRAD, Russia’s Baltic enclave, is due to dominate next week’s EU-Russia summit in Moscow (29 May). Officials say little progress has been made in talks on how the impoverished region will be treated after its neighbours Lithuania and Poland join the EU. One source said Russia fears the Union may decide to turn Kaliningrad into “something like a European Hong Kong”.

SWEDEN’S currency is too volatile to join the euro and its central bank too prone to political interference, the Commission and European Central Bank said yesterday. A key concern was the controversial transfer of funds of 20 billion krona (2.18 billion euro) from the central bank to the government, which was booked as revenue in the 2001 central government budget.

SPAIN has been accused of discriminating against homosexuals after it rejected an application from the International Lesbian and Gay Association for consultative status on the UN’s Economic and Social Council. UK Socialist MEP Michael Cashman, who is himself gay, wrote to premier José María Aznar calling the move “reprehensible”.

PORTUGAL’S Antonio José Cabral has been appointed deputy-head of the European Commission’s directorate-general for economics. The 52-year-old first became an EU official in 1988, having previously worked in his country’s planning ministry and Central Bank.